I wanted to take this opportunity to thank the entire bipartisan Rutland County legislative delegation, on behalf of the officers, trustees, directors, and members of the Rutland County Agricultural Society, for their very gracious welcome and their sincere efforts on our behalf in Montpelier recently.

Started as a simple call to my friend, Sen. Kevin Mullin, asking for help. The entire delegation, chaired by Rep. Butch Shaw, was instrumental in making valuable contacts, and additionally there were resolutions presented to both the Senate and House. The Senate resolution was passed and both the governor and the lieutenant governor offered their strong words of support and personally welcomed our board at a ceremonial presentation at the State House. I have assured them, and I will assure every one of you who read this, that our obligations will be met and that not only will we have a fair this fall starting on Aug. 29 and running through Sept. 7, but that it will be a fair that Rutland County has not seen the likes of in decades. Our board is firmly committed to the continual improvement of both the grounds and the entertainment and is looking for diversity, excitement, and a vibrant, new look, feel, and performance for all who attend.

One of the many things that we are working on is a benefit concert to be held on Sunday, the last day of the fair. There are many, many hands working on this project, and we hope to have some of the foremost entertainers in the country right here in Rutland. All proceeds from this concert will be used to erase our deficit and also to benefit Project VISION, which is critical to the Rutland Renaissance. Although the details are still in the making, Governor Shumlin has offered his personal help to our efforts, for which we are humbly grateful. We have extended him an invitation to be our guest, along with his staff, on Concert Sunday, and we hope you all stay tuned for more exciting news on this front.

Lastly, I want to personally thank all of you who have offered your support in so many ways to our organization. We are by no means perfect, but I have never seen a group of such dedicated individuals committed to bringing about progressive change in a positive direction. We were left with a tremendous mess to clean up, and, as volunteers in an old but proud organization, we will survive, we will succeed, and ultimately, we will excel. If you can envision what The Vermont State Fair can be in the future, then join hands with us to make it happen, and let us all rise up with the Rutland we love to make it reality.